11 killed, 30 wounded in twin bomb attacks in north of Baghdad

TIKRIT, Iraq, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Eleven people were killed and 30 others wounded in a roadside bombing and a following suicide bomber attack targeted a group of Iraqi soldiers outside a bank in the city of Tikrit, the capital of Salahudin province, on Thursday, a provincial police source told Xinhua.

"The latest reports said that eleven people were killed and 30 people wounded by the double bomb attacks in Tikrit," the source said on condition of anonymity.

Three soldiers were among the deaths, and many others were among the wounded, he said.

The attack took place before midday when a roadside bomb went off near a team of Iraqi soldiers gathering outside the government- owned al-Rafidain Bank in central Tikrit to collect the salaries on behalf of their military units, the source said.

A minute later, a suicide bomber wearing an explosive-vest blew himself up at the scene, the source added.

The blasts destroyed several nearby vehicles and caused severe damages to the surrounding buildings, he said.

Iraqi security forces sealed off the scene as ambulances, military and civilian vehicles evacuated the victims to the city hospitals, he added.

The provincial authorities imposed curfew on the city until further notice, and police vehicles were seen moving across the city calling for people to stay at their homes for fear of further attacks, the source said.

The attackers apparently used old tactic which depends on creating a first bomb explosion to attract security forces and people, then they set off another blast to get heavier casualties, the source added.

Salahudin province, located in northern central Iraq, is a mainly Sunni province. Its capital city of Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, is the hometown of the former president Saddam Hussien.

Violence and sporadic high-profile bomb attacks are common in the Iraqi cities despite the dramatic decrease of violence over the past few years.